Sweet Child of Mine
by Fire The Canon
Summary: A love potion gone wrong and Padma finds herself pregnant at Hogwarts. Written for the 'Pregnant at Hogwarts' Challenge. Please R&R.


**Sweet Child Of Mine**

Padma Patil sat by the window of the Ravenclaw common room. It was raining outside, which was a perfect mirror of how she was feeling. Why had she done it? And why had it been with him? Thanks to one impulsive decision, she had to live with the responsibility for the rest of her life.

Thankfully, it was too early for anyone but her closest friends and family to know. That was how she wanted to keep it. Her twin sister, Parvati had been the first one she told. Then she wrote home, explaining what had happened.

She was pregnant with Vincent Crabbe's child.

She knew what everyone's reaction would be to that news. She had seen it on Parvati's face. Crabbe? The big Slytherin who couldn't even spell his own name? But it hadn't been like she wanted it to happen that way. Well...not with him, anyway.

It had happened at Hogwarts. It had been late at night and she had been the only one left in the library, finishing off her Potions homework. Maybe it had been because she was studying love potions, but when she ran into Crabbe on her way back to Ravenclaw tower, something came over her. Something that resembled lust; lust for Crabbe. It was like she was seeing him in a completely different light. He was...attractive!

She had thrown herself at him in this moment of desire and unexpectedly, he had not thrown her off. He had not backed away in disgust; he had embraced her.

What he had been doing roaming the corridors at night, she had never asked. But they had been near the Room of Requirement and in their moment, the doors had opened. It had invited them in, almost as if it had been expecting them to appear.

That was where she had made the biggest mistake of her life. The thought now revolted her. She had let him touch her like that. If she had been in her right mind, nothing like that would have happened. She would be more likely to go to the Yule Ball with Ron Weasley again, then sleep with Crabbe.

As the rain tapped the windows gently, Padma rested her head against the pane, closing her eyes. Her hand subconsciously moved over her belly, where there was a child growing inside her. She was yet to hear of her parent's reaction, but she could assume they were not going to be pleased.

But it had happened and now she had a responsibility to raise this child on her own. There was no way she was letting the Slytherin in to her life.

"Padma," Parvati's voice rang across the Great Hall.

Parvati, who was in Gryffindor House, slipped into the seat beside her. Breakfast was almost finished and students were heading to their first lessons for the day.

"Are you okay?" her sister asked.

Padma nodded, wiping away the few tears which had formed in her eyes. "I got a letter from mum and dad," she said.

"And?"

"Well, they're not happy about it, of course, but they are coming tomorrow to see me. And to talk to Dumbledore, to make arrangements," Padma put her face in her hands. "Soon, everyone will know!" she cried.

"It's okay," Parvati said, patting her back comfortingly. "I mean, imagine what the Slytherins will say when they find out Crabbe-"

"They don't need to know!" Padma cut her off.

"Surely, he must know?" Parvati asked.

"He knows," Padma sobbed, returning her face to her hands. "And you can imagine what his reaction was when I told him. Told me if I breathed a word to anyone about it, I'd be dead within the hour. And with him, it wouldn't be just a threat."

"Dumbledore won't let that happen," Parvati assured her.

Padma wasn't so convinced. Here she was, the only student at Hogwarts, _ever_ to get pregnant and no one could know who the father was, or how it had happened. She hated feeling so alone. Parvati tried to comfort her, but she had no idea what it was like. Soon, she wouldn't be able to hide her pregnancy and that would be when the questions were asked.

"What happened?" "How did it happen?" "Who did you do it with?". She didn't think she would be able to handle it. Maybe leaving Hogwarts would be the best for everyone.

"Come on," Parvati said, pulling on her arm. "I will walk you to your class."

Padma followed her sister from the Great Hall. They walked silently towards the Transfiguration classroom. Padma was thinking about Flitwick's reaction when he found out about her pregnancy. Someone from his own house! He would be outraged. Ravenclaws were meant to be the smart ones.

"Oh no!" Parvati whimpered.

Padma followed her gaze. There he was. There was Crabbe, walking through the corridors with Malfoy and Goyle, pushing first years to the ground as they barged their way through the crowd.

It disgusted Padma to think that she had ever been interested in that..._fat lump_. Even if had been for only an hour or so.

When Crabbe saw her, a moment of hesitation came across his face. It was like he was shocked to see her standing there. But he soon regathered himself and with a look of the utmost loathing, knocked three tiny first years out of the way to get away from them as quickly as possible.

Malfoy or Goyle didn't seem to notice any difference.

"You would think that after what you two...you know...did, he would treat you a little better," Parvati sounded offended.

"It is Crabbe we're talking about," Padma hissed. Without another word, she vanished into the classroom, leaving Parvati to make her own way to Divination.

That evening, after all lessons had finished, Vincent Crabbe found himself alone in the Slytherin common room. The other students were still at dinner, probably gorging on delicious deserts. Normally, he would be doing the same, but he wasn't hungry tonight. Nor had he been for the past few weeks.

Who had that girl been? Some Ravenclaw in his year, wasn't she? A _Ravenclaw_. The thought disgusted him. She probably wasn't even a pure-blood. What would his parent's say? What would Malfoy say?

And now she was having a baby. _His baby_.

No one was ever going to find out about it. The way she had just thrown herself at him and how he had let her. Had she been the one to find his love potion? Had she drunk it by mistake? He had left it out, in the hope that Pansy Parkinson would find it: the Slytherin sixth year he had had his eye on for some time now. But she had never shown any kind of interest in him. All her attention was towards Draco Malfoy; the rich, good looking one.

How could he have let some 'half-blood' sleep with him?

As Crabbe pondered over this news, more students began to pile into the common room. Some sat around the fireplace, discussing painful ways to torture Muggles, while others went straight to their dormitories for peace and quiet.

Crabbe wasn't even listening in to the conversations around him. Something didn't feel right. It shouldn't have been like this.

"Trying to lose some weight, are you?" Malfoy's voice entered his head, but it sounded distant.

Goyle, who was standing to Malfoy's left, sniggered. The only reason he hung around with Malfoy was because of his status. Sometimes he treated him and Goyle like dirt.

Crabbe grunted a response, turning his gaze to the blond haired, pale faced boy. He had an unfriendly smirk on his face.

He then saw who was standing just behind Malfoy. _Parkinson_, he thought. If only she had found that potion. He wouldn't have been in this mess. All he had been hoping for was a kiss. Maybe he had made it wrong. Truthfully, he wasn't the best at potion-making.

"You weren't at dinner," Malfoy continued. "Normally, you would be stuffing your face with treacle tart or something."

"I was doing...er...homework," Crabbe lied. "I ate earlier."

"Homework?" Malfoy looked delighted. "Finally learnt how to read, have you? Don't need me to help you?"

Crabbe felt his fists clench in anger. If only they knew...

"I'm going to bed," he tried to keep his voice even, but he suspected Malfoy heard a touch of anger.

Without looking back, Crabbe went into his dormitory, slamming the door shut and lying flat on his back on his bed. It was only early, but he didn't care. The memory of what he had done with that Ravenclaw wouldn't disappear. Why had she drunk the stupid thing? It hadn't even been for her. Weren't Ravenclaw's supposed to be smart?

And then a question which he had been trying not to answer, came to his head. Why hadn't he said no? She wasn't in Slytherin which meant there was a high chance she wasn't even pure-blood. It was repulsive to think that he had ever...done that.

He came to the conclusion it had been out of desperation. Sure, the one he had _wanted_ to find the potion, hadn't, but someone had. He would probably never get that chance again.

"What were you thinking?" Padma's mother cried the next day. They were sitting in Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster had just disappeared to make some tea. "Out of all people, too!"

"I wasn't thinking, mum!" Padma replied, tears streaking her face. "I don't know what came over me."

"It seems as if Mr. Crabbe may have gone wrong somewhere in a love potion," Dumbledore had returned, carrying a tray of small tea cups and a matching teapot. He sat opposite the Patil family, a kind smile on his face.

"A-a _love potion_?" Mrs Patil questioned.

"Yes, a love potion. I think maybe Mr. Crabbe may have made it too strong. And I highly doubt it was intended for Miss Patil, either. Did you drink anything strange on that...er...eventful night?"

Padma could hardly look Dumbledore in the eye. She thought back to the night she was going to regret for the rest of her life. She had gone to dinner and then she had collected her stuff from the common room, before making her way to the library. There had been that-

She gasped. Dumbledore and her parents were all watching, keen to find out what she remembered.

"I-I remember the Pumpkin Juice I had that night tasted a little strange. I didn't really think much of it, though."

How could she have been so stupid? She should have stopped drinking it the moment she had noticed something was wrong. A love potion! It made sense, thinking about it. Her desire for Crabbe coming out of no where, then later feeling repulsed, after the effects had worn off. But why? How had a love potion made by Crabbe come to be in her Pumpkin Juice?

"I see," Dumbledore thought for a few moments before climbing to his feet. He walked over to the door which led them out of the office and opened it.

There was Crabbe, his fist half raised in the process of knocking.

"Come in, please," Dumbledore said.

Crabbe looked shocked and annoyed to see who else was in the office, but even he didn't refuse Dumbledore. He shuffled in, not looking at any of them.

"Please sit down," Dumbledore spoke kindly. Conjuring an extra chair from nowhere, he waited for Crabbe to be seated, before returning to his desk and pouring some more tea.

"Now, I wish for you to answer honestly, Mr. Crabbe. Have you brewed a love potion in the last few months?"

Crabbe's chubby face reddened with embarrassment. He chanced a glance over at the Patil's, before nodding.

Padma gaped. It _had_ been a love potion! All of this because that stupid idiot sitting beside her had got a simple potion wrong.

"Did you intend for Miss Patil to drink it?" Dumbledore questioned.

Crabbe shook his head, his eyes averting to the floor.

"Who was it intended for, then?"

For a moment, Padma thought he wasn't going to answer. She had never thought someone like Crabbe could go red from embarrassment, but it looked as if he had been lying in the sun for hours.

"Pamzyparkleson," he mumbled quickly.

"Miss Parkinson...I see," Dumbledore looked at Crabbe thoughtfully.

Padma was hoping for some reprimand, some punishment for what he had done, but Dumbledore seemed more amused than anything.

"I'm sure Miss Parkinson would be flattered to learn you tried to woo her with a love potion," he said, slight humour in his voice. "Nevertheless, it seems that fell in to the wrong hands. Perhaps Miss Parkinson learned of your intentions and passed it on," he turned back to Padma. "You didn't accept a drink from anyone...unusual that evening, did you?"

Padma shook her head truthfully. Pansy must have put it there some other way.

Crabbe didn't say anything after that. He stared at his feet and that was where he stayed for the rest of the discussion.

Mr and Mrs Patil were insisting on taking Padma out of school, but Dumbledore wouldn't hear of it.

"No, no, I can assure you she will be well looked after here at Hogwarts," he said dismissively.

"You-Know-Who is on the loose!" Mrs Patil cried. "And now my daughter has...is...pregnant! All the more reason for her to come home!"

Padma didn't say anything. She didn't know what she was meant to say. Going home would mean privacy, a way to escape the gossip that was sure to come in the next few months. On the other hand, with the darkest wizard of all time out and returning to power, she felt safer at school with Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Mr and Mrs Patil," Dumbledore said, getting to his feet again. "Have some time to think about everything we have discussed and send an owl in the next few days. You all may leave," he was so final that no one dared argue.

Crabbe was the first to leave, hurrying through the door and down the stone steps. Malfoy would be wondering where he was.

Padma left cautiously with her parents. Neither of them spoke to her as they left the Headmaster's office. Perhaps in shock, or in disbelief of Dumbledore's lack of concern.

"I really wish to take you home, Padma," her mother said when they were in the Entrance Hall.

"My exams are coming up," Padma replied. "I will be okay," she gave both her parents a reassuring smile and farewelled them from the castle.

After that, she returned to the common room. It was a weekend and most of the students were out in the grounds, soaking up the sun. It was the perfect time to be alone.

"You have to make him do something!" Parvati said bossily after Padma had told her about her meeting with Dumbledore. "Walk up to him, tell him you have to talk to him and demand he pay you attention. He made the stupid potion in the first place!"

"Would you want Crabbe involved with _you_?" Padma replied icily.

"No, but he wasn't under some spell, was he? He obviously knew what he was doing when you...er...came at him."

"I'd rather not have him involved," Padma insisted.

"He's already involved," Parvati folded her arms across her chest.

"Fine," Padma relented. "But only to make it clear I don't need him, okay?"

Parvati didn't answer, which Padma took as a good sign. It was getting close to dinner. Maybe she would try to catch him before he went back to his common room.

But it was impossible. Not only did Crabbe not come down that night, he wasn't seen for the rest of the week. It appeared he wasn't even turning up to classes.

_Coward_, Padma thought after hearing Malfoy loudly tell his Slytherin cronies that "Crabbe is a bit distracted lately".

Did Malfoy know? There was no way Crabbe would have told him. There was no way in the world...

It wasn't until a week later, Padma was walking through the Hogwarts grounds she saw him. There he was, chucking a Hufflepuff first year around like he was a toy. As she watched, the same disgusted feeling she felt whenever she saw him washed over her. What had been in the love potion to make her want to sleep with _that?_

However, she had promised Parvati she would talk to him (and as much as she didn't want to) she felt as if she had to keep her promise.

Staying a long way back from the Slytherins, she stayed in sight just enough for Crabbe to get a glimpse of her. No one else seemed to have noticed as they were too busy bullying the first year.

A rush of anger seemed to surge in Crabbe and the poor Hufflepuff boy collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. Crabbe had snapped his arm.

The Slytherins howled with laughter, but scattered when Professor McGonagall came running up to them, screaming detention at them all.

Padma took this as her chance. He had been separated from his stupid gang and she knew that was very rare.

Taking in one very big breath, she marched straight over to the big Slytherin looking more confident than she felt.

"Out of my way," Crabbe growled, brushing past her.

"You brewed that bloody potion in the first place!" Padma snapped, plucking courage out of nowhere to stand up to him. "If you weren't so stupid and had made it properly, none of this would be happening. Do you think I wanted this to happen? Do you think _I_ want to be associated with _you_ for the rest of my life? No way! But I was under some messed up love spell. So why did this happen? If it wasn't meant for me, but was meant for your precious Parkinson, why did you not push me away, tell me to get lost?"

She was hurrying to keep up with Crabbe's gigantic strides. He seemed determined to get away from her; to not be seen talking to her.

"Soon the whole school is going to know. All the talk will be about me, not you. I don't want anything to do with you. But the truth is, I am pregnant with your child and it is _all your fault_! I don't think this has ever happened to a Hogwarts student before."

Crabbe stopped, turned abruptly to face her, glowering. "You want to know why I didn't turn you away? Because for once in my life, I wasn't in Draco's shadow. He wasn't there and I...I would be...never mind. The point is, as far as I am concerned, this never happened and if I ever find out you told _anyone_ about it, I will kill you."

"Do you think I want people to know?" Padma cried, causing a few people to turn their heads. Crabbe growled at them, making them disappear pretty quickly.

"I would rather be put under the Cruciatus Curse than tell anyone what happened."

"That can be arranged," Crabbe responded a little too enthusiastically for Padma's liking. She took a step back.

"We will never speak of this again," she said before disappearing in to the castle.

**Author's note: This was written for the "Pregnant at Hogwarts" Challenge on Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum. I must say, the pairing of Padma and Crabbe was **_**really**_** hard to write. I had to make it believable, yet I thought going in the 'and they all lived happily ever after' direction, wouldn't be believable. In fact, it was very hard to write Padma and Crabbe getting it on believable, but I think I have done a decent job at it. **

**Please, pretty please, read and review and let me know what your thoughts and opinions are.**


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